5/13/15 – We’ve saved one of the best episodes of Past & Presence for last. Not only do we take a road trip to Duluth, MN — with a stop at a former fur trading post and a discussion of one of the worst disasters in Minnesota history along the way — but we close with one of … More Past and Presence: Careers and Vocation
4/22/15 – This week’s episode of Past & Presence takes us to the intersection of popular culture and the past. I take viewers on a walking tour of F. Scott Fitzgerald sites in the author’s hometown of St. Paul, MN, and moderate a conversation about how the past is portrayed in films, TV series, video games, novels, and other media.
4/1/15 – This week’s eighth episode of Past & Presence starts a two-part conversation about Christian approaches to the discipline of history — starting with George Marsden’s Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship. (I’ll have a post next week on that conversation after the second half airs.) Plus I get to indulge my interest in commemoration by visiting war (and … More Past and Presence: Christian History, Part I
3/11/15 – Episode six of Past & Presence took us to the Minnesota History Center, where we met people who work in everything from exhibit design and textile conservation to fundraising and internship coordination. Plus advice for students on oral presentations and working in groups, an interview with an alum teaching middle school social studies, and an introduction to pre-law at Bethel.
11/11/14 – I was happy to be interviewed for today’s Star Tribune article about the 70th anniversary of the G.I. Bill and its impact on Minnesotan colleges and universities. You can learn more about that landmark legislation and what it meant for schools like Bethel at our Bethel at War blog.
Summer break is rapidly coming to an end, with our faculty retreat taking place next Tuesday and Wednesday and students starting to move in the rest of the week. But before summer disappears completely, I thought I’d share an update on one of my projects: I’ve mentioned before that this academic year I’ll be teaching our … More Update on Our Intro to History Webisodes
Where did Memorial Day start? What does it mean? If pressed, most of us could probably guess that it emerged from the wake of the Civil War and perhaps explain that it differs from, say, Veterans Day or Armed Forces Day in specifically remembering those who have died in military service to this country. Writing in the midst of the Vietnam War, … More Revising Memorial Day
4/18/14 – Just a quick reminder for those of you who might happen to live in or near southern Minnesota… I’ll be speaking at the University of Minnesota, Rochester next Tuesday night, April 22, 7pm, as part of the UMR Connects series. My talk is entitled “‘Lest We Forget’: The Commemoration of World War I from Minnesota … More Reminder: My Talk on WWI Remembrance Is April 22
I’m happy to announce that I’ll be speaking at the University of Minnesota’s Rochester campus on Tuesday night, April 22nd as part of the UMR Connects lecture series, free and open to the public. That month the series will focus on “Wars and Conflicts,” so I was invited to give a talk on World War I (this … More Hear Me Speak on WWI Commemoration
I think it was sometime in the fall of 2003, my first semester teaching at Bethel University, when I blurted out to members of my Modern Europe class something like, “You wouldn’t be interested in a course on the history of World War II, would you?” More than ten years and lots of student requests … More Previewing My New WWII Course
The Pietist Schoolman 